The use of portable structures such as tents, cabanas, and the like, is a popular and effective way for providing shelter for both children and adults. In particular, such structures can be used to provide protection over a broad scope of conditions ranging from insulated winter camping quarters in desolate terrain to light weight sun ray protection at a beach. Irrespective of the weight or the use of such a structure, however, is the fact that the structure must be transported to, and erected at, the designated site of use. Transportation factors include size considerations, while assembly factors include ease of completion in conjunction with number of people and types of special tools needed to accomplish construction.
Portable structures such as tents generally include side, end, roof, and, usually, floor panels that cooperate with each other when the tent structure is finally erected to provide an enclosure whose size can accommodate one or more persons. Traditional construction generally requires the assembly of frame members, engagement of these frame members with appropriate structural panels, and the use of ground-hammered stakes securing ropes extending from the tent structure to thereby maintain the structure in an upright position. While portable structures so built can provide needed shelter, the actual assembly and disassembly can be cumbersome and even, depending on structure size, impossible for one person to handle.
Certain assembly difficulties have been recognized in the prior art, and attempts to lessen such hardships have been through use of an A-shaped frame wherein a self-expanding spring steel or similar material is provided as two opposing frame members joined at their respective tops in figure-eight fashion to flay outwardly with fabric attached thereto and thereby provide opposing side panels as an A-shaped structure. As is apparent, however, such a top-joining frame construction severely limits interior width dimensions since the top of the portable structure must always be an apex. Further, and beyond limitations on width dimensions, this required A-shape eliminates all perpendicular side panel configurations, thus eliminating vertical uniformity within the structure.
In view of the above disadvantages inherent in prior art portable structures, it is apparent that a need is present for a portable structure that is easily erected through self-expandability, that is collapsible to a reasonable carrying, size, and that can provide generally perpendicularly vertical side panels to thereby maximize interior structure volume. Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a foldable portable structure having opposing self-expanding side walls each with a separate frame member and separated from each other by end and roof panels.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable portable structure wherein the respective frame members are fabricated of a spring material that is self-expandable when not physically confined for expanding and maintaining each side panel in a generally flat expanded configuration.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable portable structure wherein at least one tension member is positionable by friction fit between opposing aligned sites of the frame members for pressuredly maintaining the frame members in a spaced relationship from each other.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent throughout the description thereof which now follows.